Worlds End cottage a front-row seat to sunrise show starring dolphins and seals

This is a chance to wake up to panoramic views of Kinsale

4 Ferryview Cottage, Kinsale

4 Ferryview Cottage, Kinsale
€535,000
Size	95 sq m (1023 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	C2

Anyone driving through Kinsale towards Sandy Cove or The Dock, or onwards to Ballinspittle or Timoleague, will have spotted these cottages just before Archdeacon Duggan Bridge (known to many as ‘the big bridge’).

What passers-by won’t have spotted is that these cottages at World’s End have more to offer even than those impressive bay views. No 4 Ferryview Cottages has capitalised on the space at the back by creating a good-sized deck, accessed from the upper floor.

With views like this, the house has been ‘flipped’ upside down, with the three bedrooms downstairs and the main living area upstairs.

The owner, who bought seven years ago, is upsizing because three showjumpers in the family necessitate a property suited for horses — but is full of praise for this 122-year-old cottage.

She says: “It’s old, of course, but rock solid — I love the way the original brickwork of the house has been preserved; these are really historic Kinsale fisherman family cottages.”

While a good portion of the restoration was carried out by previous owners, the current owner, who works in cardiac care, also added some upgrades, including attractive and practical shutters and a major bathroom refit.

“I was really lucky to be able to get the very busy, Bandon-based Big Man Tiny Homes to work on the bathroom and they’ve done a superb job. The cedar-clad shower is just brilliant.”

There’s underfloor heating on the ground floor, with radiators upstairs, and the house is surprisingly cosy, she adds: “It’s really warm here and actually cost me relatively little to heat — I’ve paid €700 for a tank of oil for the year.”

Views from 4 Ferryview Cottages — taken by owner

To the front, it’s all about the great views across Kinsale Harbour, the estuary, and Castlepark Marina.

“There’s always just so much to see here — boats, dolphins, seals — and the most beautiful sunrises. Like lots of other people, I swim at the dock every day before work and it’s just amazing.”

And at the rear it’s all about that attractive sun terrace, which is accessed via bi-folding doors from the open-plan kitchen, dining, and living area.

The main bedroom is at the back downstairs and that looks out on a small fern garden that also has room for a bike shed — that bike is so handy for nipping over the bridge to the dock or into town. The other two bedrooms are also doubles.

Of course, there’s keen interest in a property like this and Gobnait O’Connell, of Engel & Völkers, says it’s a mixed group of viewers, ranging from people wanting a holiday home that has a bit of character and history to families and also people downsizing. This would be an accessible home in which to spend their retirement.

The origin of the Ferryview part of the address is pretty obvious, but the World’s End portion comes from the fact that when these cottages were built, in 1904, there was no actual road outside the doors.

The owner says: “We have on-street parking outside now and it works well, as all the neighbours are just lovely people and it’s such a great place. There’s access at the other end, via a key for oil deliveries and the like.”

The Property Price Register shows that other sales of homes in this row of 10 cottages include one that went for €575 in 2023 and one for €542k in 2021.

New owners won’t be short of things to do in the area. The 10th Kinsale Arts Weekend is coming up in July; the Kinsale Good Food Circle Mad Hatters event is on the calendar for October; and the Kinsale literary festival, Words by Water, has been a popular event in recent years. And they won’t even have to leave town to catch some jazz as the town hosts its own jazz festival each autumn, too.

VERDICT: Harbour views and historic charm — bijou Kinsale living at its finest.